Kalie Weninger

University of Manchester Postgraduate Award, University of Manchester - Governance and Public Policy

I’m a proud Pacific Northwesterner and alumna from Willamette University where I graduated in 2015 with majors in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies. I volunteered for multiple social service organisations focusing mostly on providing equitable access to education and housing. This led to my eventual work: assisting and advocating for those experiencing homelessness/living in poverty. During a vacation to the UK, I noticed news station broadcasting stories about how the City of Manchester had pledged to end homelessness by 2020 and was intrigued by how they planned to accomplish such a target. Being a Fulbrighter had been a dream of mine since high school and this was the opportune moment to study policy at the epicentre of this undertaking. I took the leap and made the decision to apply for this opportunity. While in Manchester, I will be examining the policies put forward by the local government to solve homelessness. Eventually, I hope to share the best practises and successes of this initiative with policy leaders in the US in order to improve our efforts to address this issue. Outside of the academic sphere, I’m looking forward to exploring Manchester’s Northern Quarter, hiking in the Lake District and cheering on Manchester City Football Club.